Think of if a Piano, a Theremin, and ChatGPT had a baby.
I distinctly remember seeing the music video for Greyhound by the Swedish House Mafia (and if you haven’t seen it I recommend you do). The video has the three members of the EDM group standing in an empty space, wearing headsets and controlling virtual objects that help them play music while also racing robotic greyhounds on salt flats. The music video released 12 years ago, but painted a very different picture of how people would make music in the future – not with instruments, but rather with gestures. Today, the folks at ROLI unveiled the first step to that future in the form of Airwave – an AI-powered device that uses advanced image recognition to not only help you learn to play music, but perform music intuitively using unique gestures.
Known for its revolutionary Seaboard, ROLI broke away from traditional keyboards by enabling musicians to explore the microtonal spaces between notes, opening up a vast universe of expressive possibilities. Now, with the Airwave, ROLI is set to disrupt the industry again—this time, by using AI to transform how people learn to play music.
For decades, aspiring musicians have been limited to traditional learning methods like in-person lessons, online courses, or YouTube tutorials. While each of these has its strengths, they often lack real-time, personalized feedback that adapts to the learner’s unique progress. ROLI’s Airwave, powered by its Music Intelligence (MI) platform, changes this dynamic by acting as a bridge between instrument and instructor. It introduces a new era of “intelligent pianos” that use cutting-edge AI, vision, and voice technologies to offer a truly immersive learning experience.
Designer: ROLI
“Music learning and playing have been far too difficult for too long: intimidating, expensive, and one-size-fits-all,” said Roland Lamb, CEO of ROLI. “With recent advances in computer vision and AI, we are finally able to innovate beyond the keys and bring this human-centric technology to music learners and creators alike.”
The Airwave works by utilizing 3D infrared cameras that, together with ROLI’s new Vision technology, can “see” your hands as they move across the keyboard, capturing intricate finger movements and gestures. This allows the system to offer highly personalized feedback based on precise tracking of your playing technique. Whether you’re a beginner struggling with finger positioning or an advanced player fine-tuning your dynamics, Airwave adjusts its guidance to match your skill level.
At the heart of this breakthrough is ROLI’s MI platform, which incorporates five key sensory technologies—sound, sight, touch, vision, and voice. These allow Airwave to not only track your hand movements but also respond to voice commands. Ask it to show you a chord, suggest a new piece to learn, or even guide you through tricky sections of a song. This transforms the learning process into an interactive, conversational experience that feels less like traditional lessons and more like having a personal music coach at your side.
The magic really comes alive when Airwave is paired with ROLI’s Piano M (formerly known as LUMI Keys). The Piano M’s light-up keys combined with Airwave’s real-time feedback make for a compelling, intuitive learning environment. Players can practice essential elements of piano technique such as posture, hand positioning, rhythm, and harmony, all while getting immediate, adaptive feedback. This system effectively builds better habits and speeds up the learning curve without the need for constant human instruction.
On the creative front, Airwave doesn’t stop at teaching—it’s also a powerful tool for composers and performers. Its gesture-based controls allow musicians to manipulate sound in novel ways. With a simple hand raise or wrist tilt, you can shift from a piano to a symphonic ensemble, blending different tones and effects in real-time. Marco Parisi, a renowned musician and producer, emphasized the revolutionary potential of Airwave: “Every movement and gesture creates a new sound unique to the musician. It will make music much more expressive and could even lead to new genres of music”.
Airwave is now available for pre-order, setting the stage for a new AI-powered era in human-led music technology. Whether you’re a budding musician looking for a smarter way to learn or a seasoned creator in search of fresh expressive possibilities, ROLI’s latest innovation promises to redefine what’s possible with music.
